Troup Passage

We found a great place this past season to drop the hook and explore a new area by dinghy. We have been through Troup Passage many times but didn’t stop to enjoy all it has to offer until this year. We were returning from a spectacular day in Roscoe Inlet, up north a bit, and decided to take this route because a small pod of dolphin was leading the way.

We enter Troupe Passage to the east of Chatfield Island and east of the small islet labeled 84, heading south. This entire waterway is strewn with hazards, marked on your charts, but some caution is warranted.

A sidenote: many islands, rocks, coves, bays and passages in the Troup Passage area, as well as much of the Inside Passage, are not named on the navigation charts. They are identified by a number under a dash indicating height above the water. Actually a bit more complicated than this but will give you an idea. On our Chartplotters we have given a few of them names for the purpose of recalling Waypoints, usually after friends and family members, like Captains Vancouver and Cook did a few years back.

We cautiously worked our way into the passage and cruised through Troup Narrows. Just to the SSW of the narrows lies a large bay offering quite a few choices for anchorages but is subject to boat wakes passing through, just like ours. We continued past the large island on the west of this bay and turned into the smaller bay/cove staying on the lookout for the rock that appears just west of center at the entrance, quite accurately indicated on Canadian chart 3720. We moved further into the cove and chose to set the anchor at 52o 15.723”N, 128o 01.494”W, close to an attractive group of rocks and islets.

We didn’t do much today because of health issues but in looking over the area I believe it deserves a second visit, maybe for a day or two. The cove itself just looks like crabs and if you pass through the opening at the south end, there is a likely chance the crabbing would be successful there also. An exploratory cruise by dinghy around the western island will reveal other hiding places and more opportunities for wildlife photography. From Bald Eagles and seals to dolphins and diving birds, Troup Passage is actually full of northern marine wildlife.

We didn’t give this anchorage a name; it seemed too serene and peaceful. Maybe next time…